Electric blanket.



No. 750,179. PATENTED JAN. 19, 1904.

I G. FOGLESONG.

ELECTRIC BLANKET APPLIGATION FILED SEPT. 14. 1903.

N0 MODEL. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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' PATENTED JAN. 19,.1904.

C. FOGLESONG.

ELECTRIC BLANKET.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 14, 1903.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 .52

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witnesses Q22 Patented January 19, 1904.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES FOGLESONG, OF ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA.

ELECTRIC BLANKET.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 750,179, dated January 19, 1904.

Application filed September 14, 1908. Serial No. 173,126. (No model.)

To all whont it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLEs FoeLEsoNe, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Paul, in the county of Ramsey and State of Minnesota, have invented new and useful Improvements in Electric Blankets, of which the following is a specification. v

My invention relates to electrotherapeutic blanketsparticularly designed for remedial electrical treatment of persons.

It is the object of my invention to produce a blanket of the kind mentioned that will superinduce asweating action upon the patient and that will absorb or take up sweat as it exudes in order to more effectually act upon and render the patient comfortable while under treatment.

Said invention consists of the detailed construction and combination of parts, including their construction, substantially as hereinafter more fully disclosed, and specifically pointed out by the claims concluding the following specification.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrating the preferred embodiment of my invention, Figure 1 is a View thereof as applied for use. Fig. 2 is a plan viewof the same, spread or extended, parts being represented as broken away. Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the blanket, taken transversely to the direction in which the wires are passed through the blanket.

In the carrying out'of my invention I provide a plurality of sections, in the present instance three, composed of any suitable material and thickness, excepting that they shall have or possess the characteristics hereinafter specified. The inner section or sheet 1 is composed of one or more sheets of woolen or other fabric or material that may be adapted to absorb perspiration. The inner section or member 2 is composed of two or more sheets of flexible and, as nearly as may be, non-absorbent materialsa"y sheets of canvasbetween which two or more sheets wires are stretched, as is hereinafter more fully explained. The outer section or member is composed of one or more layers of asbestos or other flexible material possessed of non-conducting qualities, as will be well understood by those skilled in the art. The three sheets or sections are laid together in the order indicated and united by one or more rows of stitches along their longitudinal edges to form a single blanket or sanitary article.

In forming the inner sheet or member 2 of the blanket suitable wires 3 are stitched between the sheets by longitudinal rows of stitches, as shown in Fig. 2. The said wires are intertwisted or looped one upon the other and are suitably insulated, as is necessary and as will be understood, and they are preferably stitched closely together between the sheets. (See Fig. 2.) It is also to be noted that the wires 3 run back and forth through the substantial pockets formed by the lines of stitches, being merely bent at the ends of the pockets, so that the wires are continuous throughout the structure, their ends or terminals 3 emerging from or near one corner of the blanket and projecting a suitable distance therefrom.

The blanket herein shown, so far as the wires and their connections are concerned, (see particularly Fig. 2,) consists of laying or placing two resistances ofany wire or alloy as,for instance, German silverin the pockets between the two sheets of canvas 2, each having an insulated separation from the other. The terminals of the resistance i are connected, respectively, to the posts a and 0, while the terminals of the other resistance, 4:, are connected to the other set of posts, 7) (Z. The posts 6 c are provided with the usual switches for varying the connections of the terminals. To arrange the terminals in series, the post 6 may be connected with the post 0. To arrange in parallel, the posts a and bmust be connected and also the posts 0 and (Z. To use resistance 4: alone, the posts 0 and (Z only are connected, while to use at alone the posts a and b are connected. By this arrangement the four terminals can be connected by a manipulation of the switches, both in parallel, both in series, or one or the other alone. This manner of placing the conductors will heat the blanket, regardless of the current, be it alternating or direct, without undue waste of energy. The electrical energy may be derived from any common source of supplyas, for

instance, a coupling for an incandescent-light globe, as used in ahouse and other points, these last-mentioned features forming no part of my present invention.

The outer non-conducting blanket-section or sheet 1 serves to prevent the radiation or escape of the heat generated by the electrical current passed through the wires incased, as described, in the intermediate member or sheet 2.

In the operation or use of my invention the blanket is applied or placed around the body of the patient, encompassing it from the shoulders downward, the head being wholly exposed, the patient being thus freed, as far as may be, from discomfiture while undergoing treatment. The current is now turned on and passes through the tortuous wires, said current being suitably controlled by the proper actuation of the switches of the switchboard, as above noted, it being understood that connection has been maintained therebetween and that the said wires at their terminals and the switchboard have been coupled to a suitable source of electrical supply, as already indicated. A mild or energetic sweating process may be thus produced upon the patient, as the necessity of the case may call for, and an effective or curative action be secured in the minimum time. The near closeness with which the wires 3 are laid in the inner sheet or member of the blanket, as well as the absorbent character of the sheet 1, which comes into contact with the body of the patient, so as to take up practically all of the sweat as fast as it exudes from the skin of the patient, are important features of the invention, since both features expedite the trea'tment'and induce the flow of the heavier or thicker with the lighter fluids as sweat from the skin. Furthermore, the sheet 1 may be taken off from time to time and washed or cleansed to renovate it and renew its absorbent efficiency.

In this structure the absorbing-blanket is quite flexible and loose, excepting at its edges. Hence it will, when applied, fit the body quite closely without interference therefrom by the other member. Therefore it performs the function of sponging or taking up the sweat from the body in a perfect manner. The outer section performs the function of a damper, as it Were, so as to prevent the escape of the heat or warmth produced by the wires in the intermediate section, so that whether the intermediate or outer sheets fit closely to the body or not the patient will have the full benefit of all of the sections, no heat being allowed to escape, and the blanket or inner member being at all parts adapted to be brought into sweat-absorbing touch with the body of the patient.

It will be understood that latitude is allowed herein as to details, as they may be changed as circumstances suggest without departing from the spirit of my invention and said invention yet be protected.

What I claim is* 1. An electrotherapeutic blanket comprising in its construction an inner sheet or section 1 of absorbent material, adapted to come into contact with the skin of the patient and to absorb perspiration or sweat exuding from the skin; an intermediate sheet or section 2,

comprising two layers of canvas having continuous wires laid closely therein or running therethrough; and an outer sheet or member 3, formed of non-conducting material, the several sheets or members being united to form a common blanket or sanitary article of manufacture.

2. An electrotherapeutic blanket comprising in its construction an inner sheet or section, 1, of absorbent material adapted to come into contact with the skin of the patient and to absorb the perspiration or sweat exuding from the skin; an intermediate sheet or section, 2, comprising two layers of convas, having continuous wires, comprising two resistances, as shown and described, laid therein or running therethrough; and an outer sheet or member, 3, formed of non-conducting material, the several sheets or members being united to form a common blanket or sanitary article of manufacture.

3. An electrotherapeutic blanket comprising in its construction quite flexible inner sheet or section, 1, of absorbent material adapted to come into contact with the skin of the patient and to absorb or sponge up the exuding perspiration; an intermediate section, 2, comprising two layers of canvas, having continuous wires laid therein or running therethrough, and an outer sheet or member, 3, formed of non-conducting material, the outer member being free LlJOW3 its outer surface, and the three members being united at their edges to form a unitary structure, but leaving the absorbing member or section, 1, throughout its body part loose and free to conform to the form of the person about which it is wrapped.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES FOGLESONG.

\Vitnesses:

J. IV. MIsrER, BENNETT S. JoNEs. 

